Give blood now, help save lives by next month

The American Red Cross is urging eligible donors to give more life to patients now and into the new year by giving blood or platelets.

Donations decline during the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day when busy holiday schedules cause regular donors to be less available to give and many blood drives may be canceled due to severe winter storms. Last year, nearly 64,000 fewer blood and platelet donations were given through the Red Cross during the seven weeks from Thanksgiving through the first week of January than the average during the rest of the year.

“By taking just about an hour of time today, you can help save someone’s life within a few weeks or even days of your donation,” said Joe Zydlo, external communications manager of the Missouri-Illinois Blood Services Regions. “We’re asking donors to give now to help ensure blood is available when patients need it most.”

Blood is perishable and can only be replenished by volunteer donors. Red blood cells, the most transfused blood product, must be transfused within 42 days. Platelets, the tiny cells that form clots and help stop bleeding, must be transfused within just five days. More than half of all platelet donations go to cancer patients who may need platelet transfusions to prevent life-threatening bleeding during chemotherapy.

“Platelet donors don’t have to wait a few weeks to make a difference in a patient’s life,” said Zydlo. “Someone could donate platelets on Monday, and by Friday, those same platelets can help someone’s fight to kick cancer.”

Kelly Ellison certainly knows that. Twenty-eight weeks into her third pregnancy, she was raced to the hospital with uncontrollable bleeding and received a doubly devastating diagnosis. Not only did she have aplastic anemia – a rare blood disorder in which the body’s bone marrow does not produce enough new blood cells – doctors also detected kidney cancer. Kelly received 43 units of blood and platelets. Five weeks later, she gave birth prematurely to her son, who also needed blood transfusions to survive.

“Our lives have been forever changed because of lifesaving blood and platelet donations,” said Ellison. “Every breath I take is a blessing!”

All blood types are needed this winter. Platelet donations are especially encouraged the first week of the new year, which is among the most difficult to collect enough platelets to meet patient needs. Donation appointments can be quickly and easily scheduled by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting redcrossblood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

As a special thank-you for taking the time to donate, those who come to give Dec. 21 through Jan. 7 will receive a long-sleeved Red Cross T-shirt, while supplies last.

Watch this discussion.Stop watching this discussion.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Daily Journal Online Comment Policy
The goal of the story comments at dailyjournalonline.com is to have
a community forum for the thoughts of our readers.
We strive to make sure this is an open, thought-provoking yet
polite debate on the issues.Report Abuse
If you feel a comment has violated our guidelines, please use the
"Report Abuse" link under the comment.Comments not edited
We do not edit comments. They are approved or denied.Comments will be screened
All comments will be screened and may take several hours to be
posted.No Personal Attacks
Refrain from personal attacks or degrading comments.Do not feed the trolls
Keep comments clear, concise and focused on the topic.No Emails or Links
No advertising allowed. Do not post e-mails or links except for
pages on dailyjournalonline.com or Government websites.Be Courteous
Do not type with CAP LOCKS ON. Forgive spelling errors. No racism,
sexism or any other sort of -ism that degrades another person.Do not imply guilt
Do not convict a suspect of a crime before he or she has been
proven so in a court of law.Comment Length
Comments are limited to 1000 Characters. Characters remaining are
posted on top left of comment box.
Assertions of questionable or unrelated information will decrease
the likelihood of approval.
However we welcome such information in the form of news tips sent
via our contact us page.

We’re writing to thank you again for your Daily Journal subscription, and to share some tips and handy links that you can use to take advantage of the exciting new full-access subscription program. If you haven’t yet activated, just follow these easy steps to activate your subscription and c…